Destiny's Best Loot Farming Is In Its Lowest-Level Area

Destiny’s best spot for grabbing loot is also a lot of fun

By Adam Rosenberg September 22, 2014

By now you might have heard talk of Destiny‘s “murdercave” in Old Russia. You might have even seen it in action while running Patrol missions in Earth’s open world zone. It’s currently the hottest location in Destiny for farming lots of gear, which means that you can frequently behold the odd sight of multiple level 20+ players all lined up and shooting at a cave in the game’s lowest-level combat zone.

The video above shows you exactly how to get to the Old Russia farming location. But how do you actually milk it for great gear?

It’s pretty simple. There’s a a cave in the Skywatch area of Old Russia, straight ahead and to the left of where you enter it if you’re taking the fastest route from the Patrol’s spawn to the farming spot. This particular cave serves as the spawn location for a group of Hive enemies–Acolytes and Thralls, specifically. Very low-level, easily one-shotted with most high level gear.

Loot drops in Destiny are a question of volume. The more enemies you’re taking out on a second-to-second basis, the more gear you see fall. And since all loot drops scale to each player — everyone in Destiny sees their own loot and no one else’s — the quickest route to getting lots of drops is to mow down armies of low-level enemies.

In practice, that’s not an easy thing to set up. It’s why grinding out Strike missions, which carry guaranteed rare drops as rewards, continues to be the most surefire method for most post-level 20 players. But with murdercave, you can take advantage of a spawn loop by posting up a specific distance from the cave — behind the rectangular chunk of concrete that juts out of the ground at an angle, as you can see in the video — and shooting the Hive as they spawn.

The farming technique is doable for one person, but having a group handy is the most effective method. Solo players might have a tougher time clearing all the Hive before they can disperse outside the cave. There’s also a public event that happens very close to the cave — in fact, you should clear out when you see it starting, since the crashing Warsat takes out any nearby players — and it’s just easier to deal with in a group.

More than that, Destiny pushes back against the spawn farming every once in awhile by sending out an army of high-level Fallen and Hive enemies. These moments are actually a lot of fun, as the entire zone is suddenly flooded with more firepower than Earth’s patrol zone was ever meant to have. And once the onslaught is over, it’s easy to get back to the business of farming.

Before you venture to the murdercave, just keep a few basic rules of etiquette in mind. First, post up with the group. All experience is shared and loot drops even from enemies that you don’t kill, just so long as you’re close to the people doing the shooting. There’s enough space for everyone. Just line up and go nuts.

What’s more, don’t run up to the cave for ammo, even when you run out. Everyone will be in the same boat soon enough, so just sit patiently and let those with bullets get your XP and your loot drops for you. Then, when the whole group dashes for the cave, go in and grab gear/ammo with them.

Finally, just be mindful that there are other people doing the same thing. You might have to sometimes prune your inventory when you step into the cave just to grab everything. Do that once you’re back behind the firing line. Yes, that might mean leaving some loot in the cave. It’s okay. It doesn’t de-spawn unless you quit the game or leave the zone. As long as you’re in the cave, the Hive spawns won’t start again. You’re slowing down the process for yourself as much as you are for everyone else.

Editors' Recommendations